First experiments probing the collision of parallel magnetic fields using laser-produced plasmas
- Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)
- Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States)
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
Novel experiments to study the strongly-driven collision of parallel magnetic fields in β ∼ 10, laser-produced plasmas have been conducted using monoenergetic proton radiography. These experiments were designed to probe the process of magnetic flux pileup, which has been identified in prior laser-plasma experiments as a key physical mechanism in the reconnection of anti-parallel magnetic fields when the reconnection inflow is dominated by strong plasma flows. In the present experiments using colliding plasmas carrying parallel magnetic fields, the magnetic flux is found to be conserved and slightly compressed in the collision region. Two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell simulations predict a stronger flux compression and amplification of the magnetic field strength, and this discrepancy is attributed to the three-dimensional (3D) collision geometry. Future experiments may drive a stronger collision and further explore flux pileup in the context of the strongly-driven interaction of magnetic fields.
- OSTI ID:
- 22408329
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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